


What does 'part-time musician' even mean?

by sentimentalist (orphan_account)



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Chanyeol was the hot weirdo who posted the ad and kyungsoo didnt expect him to be hot what the hell, M/M, aka my favorite thing in the world?, inspired by this craigslist ad post, pretend relationship turn real relationship, problems aka kyungsoo catching feelings ensue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-23
Updated: 2017-01-29
Packaged: 2018-09-01 16:06:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8630533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/sentimentalist
Summary: "How am I gonna tell our children that I met their dad through a weird ad on Craigslist?"





	1. Chapter 1

Kyungsoo heard loud high-pitched laughter coming from the living room and lifted his head in annoyance, trying to contain his anger. "Baekhyun, for the twentieth time; I'm trying to study here!" Kyungsoo yelled and banged on the adjacent wall, trying to get his roommate and friend to calm down. The laughter stopped, but then Baekhyun waltzed in Kyungsoo's room without even knocking, laptop in one hand, and plopped himself on the other boy's bed. "Check this out 'Soo, look at what someone posted on Craigslist," Baekyun giggled, eyes glued to the screen in front of him. "Why are you even on Craigslist, Baek? You know that Tinder exists, right? I heard it was better for this type of thing," Kyungsoo snapped, he was still trying to read his international relations handout, even if he kept re-reading the same line over and over again, he couldn't concentrate on his reading because of a _certain someone_. "I'm on Craigslist because you can find funny stuff on here, grandpa. I do have a Tinder, but I can get a date even without it, unlike _you_ ," Baekhyun wiggled his finger in Kyungsoo's direction and flashed him a brilliant smile. Kyungsoo wanted to break that finger. "Violence is not the answer," he muttured to himself and took a deep breath. Baekhyun squeaked in response to that and flopped down on the bed, pretending to be dead. "Good. Stay like that, and don't ever move again," Kyungsoo went back to reading, smiling to himself about his friend's stupidity. 

"C'mon 'Soo, I was serious, you kinda really need to look at this! Remember how you always whine about-" "I don't ever whine, shut up," immediately interrupted him Kyungsoo, eyes glued to his handout. "Sure you don't boo, anyway, not the point," continued Baekhyun, rolling his eyes at the other boy's statement. "Remember how you _don't_ whine about your mom constantly pressing you about your non-existent love life?" hearing Kyungsoo grumble in response to that, Baekhyun snorted and went on, "Christmas is coming up, right? Family dinners, all that fun stuff where you usually come with your boyfriend, girlfriend, that thing you don't have-" "Get to the point before I punch you in the dick, Baekhyun," Kyungsoo growled, which only earned him a giggle from Baekhyun. "Ok, rude much, I was just about to explain everything. There's this ad on Craigslist that says that some guy is ready to be a pretend boyfriend for like a dinner and some gas money? But not like a good boyfriend, but a _very_ bad one so your family hops off your dick- Pardon, leaves you alone for the rest of eternity just so you get rid of the guy," there was another fit of giggles after that, and Kyungsoo just started at the boy dying in the fits of laughter on his bed because. What. "Look at the ad yourself! It's so funny. I bet your family would never ask about your love life ever again after that. C'mon, do it 'Soo, it'll be so funny," Baekhyun looked at him, smile mischievous, laptop turned in Kyungsoo's direction. He sighed and rolled up to Baekhyun, too lazy to stand up from his chair. 

"Twenty three...a bartender...plays guitar....a part time musician...What does 'part time musician' even mean? Musician where?" Kyungsoo frowned, and Baekhyun just hummed in response. "Dunno. Meet up with the guy and ask him yourself," Baekhyun shrugged with ease. Kyungsoo's frown deepened. "What if he's a serial killer or something?" "I didn't say 'meet up with him at 1 A.M. in a dark alley, did I? Message him, meet him somewhere crowded. Oohhhh, bring him to our coffee shop!" Baekhyun sat up on his bed, suddenly excited. Kyungsoo stared at the screen unblinkingly, deep in thought. What if he really did that? The guy didn't sound like a total freak, even if the whole premise of his ad was weird as hell. The part about 'a van painted like Eddie van Halen's guitar' was the second weird thing. Other than that, the guy sounded rather normal. Kyungsoo then felt Baekhyun's hand wrap around his biceps. " 'SOO OH MY GOD, YOU'RE REALLY CONSIDERING IT," he yelled and started slapping Kyungsoo's shoulder. Kyungsoo slapped Baekhyun back, annoyed, and rolled back to his desk, turning away from Baekhyun. "...Send me the link to the ad, I'll think about it," Kyungsoo mumbled, and there was a whoop from Baekhyun after that and the sound of him kicking on the bed. "You _have_ to record the funniest parts, _and_ I expect a full recap of the dinner," said Baekhyun, closing laptop, and finally getting up from his bed. "I didn't even say I'd do this yet!" Kyungsoo answered defensively, but Baekhyun just winked at him and left the room. His friend was annoying. He definitely needed new friends. Kyungsoo heard his phone vibrate on his desk, and when he looked at it, it was a facebook notification from Baekhyun with the link to the Craigslist ad and another winky face. "I haven't said yes yet!" he yelled again, and then heard another burst of laughter coming from the living room. Kyungsoo groaned and looked at his phone again. Baekhyun knew that Kyungsoo already made up his mind about the whole ordeal, and it was annoying, but he wasn't about to give the other boy the satisfaction of admitting it. Yet.

 

\-----

 

Kyungsoo was sitting at the table, nervously tapping his fingers on the table surface, nervousness getting the better of him. When he looked in the direction of the counter, Baekhyun blew him a kiss and waved his hand in the other's boy direction. Kyungsoo abruptly turned his head away from that, muttering a quiet 'fucker' under his breath. Baekhyun made him tell what time and day he was meeting his "boyfriend" at the cafe, and he knew that the sleepy, full of food Kyungsoo was the right Kyungsoo to ask when he wanted to get some sensitive information out of him. Nonetheless, it didn't bother him as much as he pretended it did, because he was kind of nervous about meeting the mysterious guy with a Van Halen van. 

Kyungsoo, obviously, contacted the guy, and to his relief, he didn't sound too weird over email either. He understood why Kyungsoo wanted to meet him, and said that he shared the sentiment, which made Kyungsoo snort when he read that. "I really don't think so, though," he said to himself, continuing to read the email. They exchanged numbers, just in case, and set the date of their meeting, and here the day was, but the guy was late. "You sure he didn't stand you up, 'Soo?" called Baekhyun out from behind the counter. "Go back to work, Byun, or I'm gonna tell Junmyeon that you're slacking again," answered Kyungsoo without even glancing at his annoying friend. "There's no one here expect for you, though," Baekhyun stated and kept staring at the other boy's profile. Kyungsoo pretended he didn't notice. Honestly, he was more annoyed about the whole thing than anything by now, it _had_ been fifteen minutes since they were supposed to meet, and Kyungsoo hated when people were late. 

"What if he saw you and then decided that you're too ugly even for a pretend date?" laughed Baekhyun, currently occupied with pretending to wipe the counter. Kyungsoo finally did look at him then, face expressionless, "You literally had a crush on me for the first three months after we first met." This was followed by a loud 'Yah' from Baekhyun, but before he could finish what he wanted to say, someone opened the door with a loud bang, and then there was another crash and a mess of limbs on the floor right by the entrance. "There isn't even a treshold there", Kyungsoo sighed and stood up, walking over to the person who, knowing his luck, was most likely his future pretend boyfriend. 

"Are you Park Chanyeol?" he asked the guy in front of him, offering him a hand to help him stand up. What Kyungsoo didn't expect, however, was startling the guy, the other's head snapping up in the direction of the voice, eyes big and mouth open. "Are you an angel?" the guy answered with a question of his own after taking Kyungsoo's hand, but making no attempt to stand up. "Uh," that was all Kyungsoo could manage, his cheeks light pink now. The worst thing was that he could hear Baekhyun chocking on laughter somewhere behind him, and he wanted nothing more that to disappear right this second. The guy then laughed, finally standing up, never letting go of Kyungsoo's hand. "I am Chanyeol though, yeah. Are you Kyungsoo? You didn't tell me you were cute," with that, the guy- Chanyeol, finally let go of his hand, and Kyungsoo stepped back from him abruptly. "I'm not-" then Kyungsoo finally took a good look at the person in front of him, "-oh wow."

The big smile on Chanyeol's face changed into a slightly confused frown, "Is everything okay?" Kyungsoo just stood there, dumbfounded, because he didn't expect the guy who posted a weird ad on craigslist to look like a damn model. "You're tall," he blurted out, and that made Baekhyun actually holler, and the beaming smile was back on Chanyeol's face. "Is that your friend behind the counter?" Chanyeol asked, looking behind him. Baekhyun's excited 'I am!' was said at the same time as Kyungsoo's firm 'I don't know him', and Chanyeol laughed at that, and shook his head. "Anyway, can we sit and talk over the details now? Uh, can I get a hot chocolate please?" he asked Baekhyun, and the latter made the 'ok' sign and finally got to doing something besides embarrassing Kyungsoo. 

"Hot chocolate?" asked Kyungsoo once they sat down at the table. Chanyeol shrugged, small smile grazing his lips. "Christmas is days away, isn't it? Trying to get in the mood." "Why are you doing this?" Kyungsoo gestured between them. "What is this, twenty questions?" Chanyeol's eyes twinkled, and what was he, a Disney prince? Whose eyes _twinkle_ in real life? "You can not answer if you don't want to, of course," Kyungsoo added quickly, worrying that he overstepped the boundaries, they did just meet, after all. "It's alright, don't worry. It's nothing interesting, I usually spend Christmas with my family, but my sister is living abroad right now, and they wanted to visit her...I decided to stay back, and my friend made me post this ad online because he thought it would be hilarious if someone actually hired me to annoy their family," he leaned back, relaxing in the chair. "No offence, Kyungsoo," he snorted, when he saw the other boy furrow his brows. "Plus, now, if you want to go through with this, I'll get to spend some time with a family and eat a Christmas dinner. Kind of a win-win situation, right?" he was interrupted by Baekhyun coming up to them, Chanyeol's face lighting up at the sight of hot chocolate. Kyungsoo felt light-headed and he did _not_ like that. "Thank you so much! Wow that looks delicious, I love whipped cream," Chanyeol gushed, looking at the mug in front of him. "How much is it?" "Oh, don't worry, it's on the house," Baekhyun waved his hand dismissively, and then Kyungsoo felt his shin being punched. He glared at Baekhyun, but the boy just mouthed 'you're paying for that' at him and went back to his place behind the counter, smiling over the shoulder at his friend. Kyungsoo sighed and decided to let it go. "Not your friend, huh?" Chanyeol chuckled, putting his mug down after tasting the hot chocolate. "...We're roommates. But I don't know him." Chanyeol laughed at that, and Kyungsoo felt his cheeks heat up again. Oh no. 

"Anyway, so, why did you even decide to message me? You don't...seem like the type to do something like that?" Chanyeol asked after a bit more of the chit-chat, during which Kyungsoo found out that 'part-time musician' meant that the bar he worked at let Chanyeol play there some nights, that he recently turned 23 - 'We're the same age! That's so cool!' courtesy of Chanyeol - and that he didn't really want to be a bartender, but because he needed to make money somehow, while waiting for his 'big break'. He already finished his degree, he majored, unsurprisingly, in songwriting and minored in music engineering. By the time they got to Chanyeol's explanation about why he wanted to be a musician, Kyungsoo forgot why they met up in the first place, listening to Chanyeol ramble about this and that, and- Kyungsoo was in big trouble, because he wasn't supposed to like his pretend boyfriend at all. He _was supposed to be a weirdo_. "Uh," the question startled the boy, and he had to take a couple of seconds to organize his thoughts. "Sorry?" "You. Why did you want me to ruin your family dinner?" Chanyeol asked again, chin propped on his hand, searching look in his eyes. "I don't want you to...Ruin it? I-" Kyungsoo stopped here, thinking about what he actually wanted to accomplish now. Did he want Chanyeol to pretend to be a jerk of a boyfriend, so that his family would be left horrified and scarred, begging him to break up with his 'boyfriend'? Or... "I kinda just. Want you to pretend to be my boyfriend?" Kyungsoo swallowed and lowered his gaze, not daring to look Chanyeol in the eyes. "Oh," was all Chanyeol said before falling silent for a while. Kyungsoo, the fool that he was, then decided to start talking. "My mom really wants me to find someone. Like, _really_ wants to. She tries to set me up with boys _and_ with girls all the time. And I don't- I don't want that. I'm single, I've been single for forever, and I don't want her to butt in in my personal life, so the whole thing is frankly ridiculous, and _actually_ it was Baekhyun who made me message you-" Chanyeol started snickering at this point, and that made Kyungsoo stop and catch his breath. He finally looked at Chanyeol, and the other boy was laughing, mouth hidden behind his hand. "If you don't want to do it you can just go, you know," finished Kyungsoo, embarrassed for his outburst, but Chanyeol only shook his head at that. "It's alright, 'Soo, I get it. Parents can be like that sometimes," there was a soft smile on Chanyeol's face, but Kyungsoo fixated on how casually the nickname slipped out of Chanyeol's mouth, and Kyungsoo found that he didn't mind. There was a very small circle of friends who called him that, but with Chanyeol- he didn't mind. "I'll do it. No hitting on others at the family dinner, no controversial political statements, just being a good boyfriend. I can do that," Kyungsoo took a deep breath after that and closed his eyes. "Thank you," he said quietly, and then Chanyeol enveloped Kyungsoo's hand in his, Kyungsoo's eyes flying open at the gesture. "Just practicing being a good boyfriend," Chanyeol answered to the question in Kyungsoo's eyes, tone mischievous and teasing. "Baekhyun is gonna have a field day with this," Kyungsoo muttered gravely, causing Chanyeol to laugh once again. Kyungsoo felt butterflies in his stomach at that. He was never gonna hear the end of it from Baekhyun, that was for sure. But maybe it wasn't not all that bad if Chanyeol would keep laughing like that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok SO this is the post in question http://orchidbreezefc.tumblr.com/post/152879983365/its-that-time-of-year and the moment I saw this I thought of chansoo and how I wished there was a chansoo fic based on this...three hours later, it's almost 5am and I regret ever seeing this post haha. BUT anyway, this is the first chapter, there will be the second one with the actual dinner and actual chansoo...Once agains, I wrote the whole thing on my iphone bc laptops aren't cool enough for me. And it's not beta-ed either so sorry for all the mistakes, they're all mine D: Sorry for rambling, thanks to everyone who read this, love you lots, feedback is greatly appreciated :') Bye!


	2. Chapter 2

They decided to take a walk after finishing their drinks, and when they were leaving, Chanyeol took Kyungsoo's hand in his own and intertwined their fingers. Kyungsoo felt his face heat up at this, but he didn't say anything, just squeezed Chanyeol's palm slightly in response. On their way to the door, Kyungsoo glanced at Baekhyun, and the latter had a surprised look on his face, but he wasn't able to either say or do anything because there were two girls standing by the counter, waiting for their drinks, probably. Kyungsoo sighed and shook his head.

"Everything alright?" asked Chanyeol when they were outside, wandering slowly through the empty street, away from the cafe. "Yeah, I'm just- Gonna have to explain that to Baekhyun somehow, and he's always so loud about everything, I don't know what to expect from this, honestly," Kyungsoo sighed, again, and Chanyeol bumped their shoulders. "Didn't you say he was the one who made you message me? Plus, it's all just to make your parents stop worrying about all the dating stuff, so what's the problem, right?" Kyungsoo felt his insides twist at that, he didn't answer right away, just looked up at Chanyeol. The other had a small smile grazing his lips, and was looking around, taking in the surroundings. "...Yeah," finally answered Kyungsoo. "No problem here, you're right. I'm just overthinking things,"he ducked his head, deciding to keep his eyes on the ground. "I'm glad he made you message me, though, you know? It's like...destiny. I like you," Chanyeol said easily, swinging their hands between them. Kyungsoo's head snapped up then, mouth falling open. Chanyeol glanced at him and started laughing at the shocked expression on the other boy's face. "Like as in I want to stay your friend after this, you dummie. Don't worry, I'm not gonna try to seduce you at your family dinner," he said then teasingly, smile still lingering on his face. Kyungsoo felt his stomach drop completely at that, and he just chuckled. Right, what was he thinking? They'd know each other for about an hour, why was he even feeling like that? One hot guy talked to him and he lost it? God, maybe his mother was right and he did need to find someone.

"I can't believe my own boyfriend just friend-zoned me," Kyungsoo mumbled bitterly, and that caused Chanyeol to let go of his hand and double over in laughter. Kyungsoo watched him in amusement, small smile tugging at his lips. "Do you always laugh at everything?" but the answer was just more laughter. When Chanyeol finally finished laughing, he patted his stomach, pained expression on his face. "I'm sure you'll survive me friend-zoning you, you're cute enough to find someone better than me," he said, throwing his hand over Kyungsoo's shoulder this time. "Stop saying that I'm cute, Park, or I'll kick you in the stomach," Kyungsoo said lowly, trying to make himself believe that he didn't like the weight of the taller boy draping all over him. "Ohhh, scary."  
There was a lull in the conversation after that, and Kyungsoo wondered what the other boy was thinking about. Then it struck him that he didn't even ask about this one very important thing.

"Uh, Chanyeol?.. Not to be insensitive or anything, but. Are you straight? Or not?" He watched the Chanyeol's profile, but there was no change in the facial expression after the question. Chanyeol just huffed in response to that, not saying anything for a moment. "No, I guess? I mean, I dunno. I don't really like to label myself, so I kind of just...Roll with it. So no, I'm not straight, I just like who I like," he answered, his tone light. He then moved his arm from Kyungsoo's shoulder to his waist, earning a slap from the other boy. "What? We need to practice, 'Soo," he whined, placing his hand around Kyungsoo's waist again. "Do you want your relatives to ask why we're so awkward around each other? You're bringing your boyfriend to meet your parents, I don't think couples slap each other after every touch if they're at that stage of their relationship," Chanyeol frowned, squeezing the other boy's waist lightly. When he looked at Kyungsoo, his cheeks were tinged with pink, and Chanyeol beamed at that. "See, as I said: cute," he cooed, and Kyungsoo glared at him, blush still visible. "If you're gonna glare at me like that learn how to control your blush, Kyungsoo-ssi." "Fuck off," bit back Kyungsoo, but didn't make any attempt to move away from Chanyeol.

They kept walking for a bit more, discussing what time they were going to meet tomorrow (3 P.M. at Kyungsoo's, the dinner was at 4:30); what was going to be their cover up story (him and Baekhyun decided to go out one day and stopped by Chanyeol's bar accidentally, where Kyungsoo saw Chanyeol performing and decided to ask him out.) ("You asking me out? That's just not realistic, 'Soo." That earned Chanyeol a punch in the stomach.); and just general info that they needed to know, from their birthdays to their parents' names. It also turned out that they had similar music tastes, and when Kyungsoo mentioned that he also used to take vocal lessons, Chanyeol got so excited that Kyungsoo had to tell him to calm down at least three times, and in the end he had to promise Chanyeol that he would sing for him one day. That finally shut him up. Kyungsoo, in turn, was feeling torn because he kept thinking about how somehow he felt as comfortable with Chanyeol as he did with some people that he had know for much longer than a couple of hours. Maybe he just forgot and this was how you were supposed to feel when you made new friends, butterflies in your stomach and all? Chanyeol's warm hand in his, he tried not to make a big deal out of everything that was happening right now, and told himself to be happy that he somehow managed to meet a person as amazing as Chanyeol.

It started to get dark by the time Chanyeol shyly said that he needed to go home and get ready for his shift at the bar. Kyungsoo's voice formed a small 'O' when he realized that they'd been together for this long already. "Of course! I'm so sorry, I didn't have anything to do today so I didn't even think- Oh, I'm so stupid," he muttered, dragging Chanyeol behind him, back to the cafe. Chanyeol giggled and squeezed Kyungsoo's hand, telling him that it was okay. "You didn't know, what's there to apologize for?" Kyungsoo just huffed at that, thinking that he was apologizing for even entertaining the thought of asking Chanyeol to go to the movies with him later in the evening. "...Yeah, you're right. Now stop dragging your feet, shouldn't you be super fast with legs as long as yours?" "You like my legs?" asked Chanyeol playfully, and really? Kyungsoo did. "Keep dreaming, Park."

 

When they reached the cafe, Chanyeol led them further down the road to where he parked his van. "Holy shit," was the first thing that left Kyungsoo's mouth when he saw the monstrosity. "That's like. Super bright." Chanyeol pouted and folded his arms, like a five year old that Kyungsoo came to know in the past couple of hours, "Why do I feel like you're insulting my baby?" Kyungsoo's eyes widened, worried that he might have actually offended the other boy, and he vigorously waved his hands in front of him. "No! I didn't meant it like- It's nice, I guess? Red is nice. Um," he swallowed, eyes darting from Chanyeol's face to the space behind him. Chanyeol then chuckled and brought his hand to Kyungsoo's face to smooth out the wrinkle between his eyebrows. "I'm just joking, 'Soo, I know the van is bit of a hot mess. But I kind of do like it, plus it does the job pretty well, so it's all good," his hand was now on Kyungsoo's cheek and Kyungsoo looked up at Chanyeol, eyes wide, confusion in them clearly visible. "Just practicing, 'Soo," said Chanyeol softy and bent down to place a light kiss on Kyungsoo's cheek. "We're supposed to be a couple, remember?" Chanyeol's breath on his cheek and the low voice made Kyungsoo's eyes flutter shut. "Yeah," Kyungsoo shakily exhaled, his heart skipping a beat, and took a step back from the taller boy. "You should go, I don't want you to be late." Chanyeol nodded, small smile grazing his lips. "Thanks. See you tomorrow, then?" "...See ya. Drive safely. I'll text you the address," Kyungsoo tried to sound as casual he could, considering the whirlwind that was currently happening inside his head. "Alright. Don't let that Baekhyun boy tease you too much," and with that, Chanyeol got into the car, and after waving enthusiastically at Kyungsoo for approximately ten seconds, he took off. Kyungsoo dragged a hand across his face, sighing. What did he get himself into?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember how I said this fic was gonna have two chapters? Haha *eyes emoji* This version of chansoo in my head kept acting on their own and I ended up with another unnecessary 1k words :/ I promise I'm gonna get to the Do family dinner soon though jshdjs Please don't judge me


	3. Chapter 3

"Yeah. Yes mom. Yes, I'm coming tomorrow, yes, I'm bringing someone over, and no, I'm not pranking you, I actually am seeing someone," Kyungsoo repeated for what felt like millionth time, and pinched his nose bridge, trying to contain the irritation from sipping into his voice. He felt guilty the first time he said that, he wasn't used to lying to his mother, after all, but at this point he really was plain annoyed. Was the thought of him actually dating someone that absurd? He was offended, but not as offended as he would've been if he actually was dating someone and not just- well, fooling his family in order to avoid dating. Okay, he thought to himself, maybe she had a point. His mom finally decided that it was enough torture for Kyungsoo for today, but she promised to get all the details out of him tomorrow, and he groaned inwardly. Tomorrow was going to be hell.

After hanging up, Kyungsoo plopped down on his bed and nuzzled his pillow, whining. Today was too eventful for him, he was Tired with a capital T. After he came back home from his meeting with Chanyeol, Baekhyun was already waiting for him, all the questions and jabs ready. He whined once he remembered what only can be called an interrogation from Baekhyun. He tried to get him to say what the "whole thing" meant, when there was no "thing", as far as Kyungsoo was aware, which was one of the reasons why he was so sulky and tired, but Baekhyun would never hear him admitting it.

"It took you literally 85 years to acknowledge that I was your friend and not look like I killed your dog and spat in your face every time we hung out," he whined, mouth full of pasta he made Kyungsoo make for him as an apology for going off with Chanyeol. He wasn't exactly sure why he was supposed to apologize for that, but it was easier to shut Baekhyun up with some food than listen to his complaints. Kyungsoo didn't say much at all, but when he said that the plan with scaring the family was cancelled and him and Chanyeol were simply going to pretend that they were together in order to get Kyungsoo's mother off his back. Baekhyun gawked at him for good thirty seconds after he said that, until Kyungsoo snapped at him and told him to keep eating. The other boy complied, but now there was a shit-eating grin on his face, and Kyungsoo huffed, crossing his arms in front of him. "I can hear you thinking something weird, you dick, I don't like Chanyeol, stop smiling or I'm going to throw away the rest of the pasta." "Right, of course, you don't like him, but you still think he's hot."

Kyungsoo sputtered at that, and it took him a second to compose himself. "Yah, will you shut up? I never said I thought he was hot!" Baekhyun snorted and stood up to put the now-empty plate in the sink. "Soo, you for real almost drooled when you saw him at the cafe, you think I'm blind?" "...I didn't drool," Kyungsoo said calmly, but the glare betrayed him. Baekhyun snickered again, rolling his eyes, and went up to Kyungsoo. "I'm glad you finally like someone, Soo, don't get me wrong, just don't like. Get in over your head, alright?" Baekhyun put his hand on Kyungsoo's shoulder, squeezing it lightly. "I know you, and you can get pretty obsessed very quickly, even if you don't ever admit it, and I don't want you to get hurt, that's it. You know almost nothing about the guy, after all," Baekhyun said, tone dismissive, but there was a serious look in his eyes. Kyungsoo sighed and shook his head. Did he really live long enough to witness Byun Baekhyun lecturing him?

"Listen, you. You literally hook up with people from tinder who you've known for less than five seconds. I think I can handle myself in this one." Baekhyun's eyes widened and he punched Kyungsoo in the arm. "What the hell, Do, I was just trying to be a supportive hyung!" "What hyung, we're the same age," mumbled Kyungsoo, but the puppy eyes on the other guy made his facial expression soften and he smiled slightly. "Thanks for the advice anyway, but there really isn't anything between Chanyeol and I. Hyung," Kyungsoo added in the end teasingly, and left the kitchen, right as Baekhyun started whining about how he was making fun of him again.

Kyungsoo didn't notice how he drifted off to sleep while he was thinking about the whole situation with Baekhyun, and when he woke up, he had glasses digging in the right side of his face and his whole body was stiff. He groaned and looked up to see the time. It was 2:34 AM, and his phone screen was glowing. He turned on his back and grabbed his phone to check it. There was a text message. Chanyeol sent it a couple of minutes ago.

He felt his cheek heat up slightly, and sighed, deciding to text Chanyeol back. He probably wasn't asleep yet anyway.

Kyungsoo chuckled and shook his head. Why was he using so many emojis? Him and Baekhyun would probably be able to bond over this. After a couple of minutes of debating, he decided to answer the other boy. Just out of politeness.

After he sent that, he locked his phone and placed it in the charging dock, and took his glasses off. When he got under the covers and started to fall asleep again, there was a smile on his face and the only word that kept appearing in his head was what Chanyeol just called him. "Boyfriend," he murmured to himself, half-asleep. _Boyfriend Chanyeol would've been nice,_ was a thought popped up in his foggy brain, but Kyungsoo was too far gone to register it and freak out. That night, Kyungsoo dreamt of golden retriever puppies and cotton candy. He hadn't dreamt about anything in years.

  
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

 

Kyungsoo was pacing back in force in their living room, trying to smooth out his hair and clothes as best as he could. "Will you calm down already? God," Baekhyun scolded him from where he was sprawled on the couch, playing Mario Run on his phone. "Mario Run sucks, and you suck too," Kyungsoo snapped at him, and kept pacing. He was so nervous, and the two cups of coffee that he had in him didn't help. Baekhyun was laughing at him, and that didn't help either.

"Didn't you both practice what you were going to say to everyone? Why are you so nervous? I don't think they're gonna like interrogate you, KGB style, I think most of them are just gonna be too uncomfortable to actually ask any questions. You know how these older relatives always are," Baekhyun huffed, not taking his eyes off the screen. He had a point, but it didn't make Kyungsoo any less nervous. He didn't want to fuck it up, that was true. Yet what he was more nervous about was Chanyeol acting like his boyfriend, but he wasn't going to admit it to Baekhyun. Besides the dinner, there was also a forty minute drive to Ilsan, which meant that he was going to be in the car - van, for fuck's sake, the _van_  - with Chanyeol. Exciting? So exciting Kyungsoo felt like throwing up. Then the front door buzzer rang, and Baekhyun was the first one up and running to the door, with Kyungsoo running behind him, trying to stop the other guy. "That's not your guest, go back to playing Mario Run, Baekhyun, please!" Kyungsoo was tugging on his friend's shirt from behind, trying to stop him from opening the door, but Baekhyun just slapped his hands away and opened it anyway. On the other side there was Chanyeol, smiling from ear to ear, guitar case strap slung over one of the shoulders. Baekhyun beamed at the guy, which earned him a punch in the shoulder and Kyungsoo sighed tiredly. He's been doing that a lot lately.

"Hi! We haven't officially met, I'm Chanyeol, nice to meet you," Chanyeol bowed to Baekhyun slightly, and Baekhyun laughed at that. "You can come inside. I'm Baekhyun, but you know that already. You don't have to be so polite, I know Kyungsoo probably told you what a horrible person I was yesterday."

"I did not-" "He might have," said Kyungsoo and Chanyeol at the same time, which made Baekhyun laugh again, and Chanyeol raised his hands in a calming gesture in response to Kyungsoo's glare in his direction. "Ohh, he has you trained already? That didn't take long," teased Baekhyun Chanyeol, but there was only another beaming smile from the latter in response to that. "I'm a fast learner, what can I say." "Good boy, do you want me to scratch behind your ear?" "No, thanks, I think Kyungsoo might-"

"You can continue your weird pet play until I come back with my coat, we need to leave as soon as possible, Park," Kyungsoo grumbled and stomped away. "-get mad. He did get mad. Man, we aren't even at his parents' yet, I can't believe I managed to fuck up already," Chanyeol covered his face with both of his hands as he whined. Baekhyun smiled and shook his head. He had a feeling that him and Chanyeol were going to get along. "It's alright, he didn't get mad, he's just grumpy because he's nervous," also because he's jealous, but that was for Kyungsoo to say to Chanyeol. "He'll get over it quickly, don't worry," Baekhyun patted Chanyeol's back, comforting him. "Thanks," murmured Chanyeol, taking his hands away from his face.

"I actually wanted to tell you something. Uh, it's like, very awkward, I don't know if Soo told you but...He hasn't dated anyone in a long time, so try not to make him feel awkward, and don't force him to do anything, alright?" Baekhyun scratched his neck, looking up at Chanyeol. There was already a pair of wide eyes looking down at him, and, really, Baekhyun didn't think that Chanyeol was going to do something that Kyungsoo would be uncomfortable with, and Kyungsoo was more than capable of taking care of himself, but he still wanted to be a good friend. "No, God, of course not. He did say that he wasn't interested in dating...So I kind of assumed that anyway. Plus, I don't think that I'd even be able to pressure him into anything, he somehow knows where to hit so it hurts the most," Chanyeol chuckled at that, lowering his head. Baekhyun raised an eyebrow at the resigned tone in which the no-dating part was said in, but decided not to bring it up to not make it awkward. He was going to, however, if the whole pretend boyfriends charade today wasn't gonna result in the two actually getting together. I can't believe I managed to find Kyungsoo a boyfriend through Craigslist, he snickered to himself, and when Chanyeol looked at him curiously, he just waved it off. "Yeah. I don't know where he learned it either, but can you imagine how much worse it is for me? I've known him for _years_!" "Ouch," Chanyeol winced in sympathy, but right at that moment Kyungsoo finally emerged from his bedroom, both boys straightened their posture, trying to act casual, and not like they were talking about him. No one said anything while Kyungsoo was putting his boots on, Baekhyun only gave Chanyeol thumbs up, trying to cheer the other up.

"Let's go, Park. Bye, Baekhyun. I'm gonna bring you something to eat, if uncle Sungki doesn't end up eating everything, as usual. But mum always packs something for you anyway, so look forward to it. Bye," Kyungsoo left without looking in his direction, and Chanyeol followed, after waving, looking slightly puzzled.

When they settled in the van, Chanyeol just sat there, hands on the wheel, without starting the car. Kyungsoo looked at him, eyebrows raised, trying to get the other do something already.

"We're gonna be late if you don't start driving now," Kyungsoo said flatly, but then he deflated slightly, after hearing his own tone. There wasn't any reason for him to be mad, nor did he have any right- even if Baekhyun and Chanyeol wanted to flirt with each other, who was he to stop them? He wasn't Chanyeol's boyfriend, that's for sure, and Baekhyun- "Oh," Kyungsoo gasped suddenly, startling Chanyeol. The brown haired boy clutched his chest and whined, trying to show off how much the gasp scared him. This, however, only earned him a roll-eyed look and a punch in the arm. "Stop it, you big baby, I just remembered something." "What, did you forget something? Do you need to go back upstairs?" Chanyeol frowned, trying to decipher the sudden change in the atmosphere. Kyungsoo didn't seem mad anymore, more than that, there was a big heart-shaped smile on his face, which would've made Chanyeol's heart melt if it was made of ice. "You've got such a pretty smile, Soo," Chanyeol cooed at him, placing his chin on his hands that were still resting on the steering wheel. "I know," said Kyungsoo, and smiled even wider. There were butterflies in his stomach, blush on his cheeks, and only one thought in his head about how stupid he was. Stupid because he forgot about Yixing, the boy in Baekhyun's music theory class, who had "the best dimples in the world and the dance moves of a god", according to Baekhyun. The boy who's Baekhyun been crushing on for the past couple of months. He couldn't believe he forgot about Yixing and really thought that Baekhyun would've- "Nevermind," shook his head Kyungsoo, and glanced at Chanyeol, who was still admiring Kyungsoo with a blissed out look on his face. "Watcha looking at, boyfriend? Hurry, we really need to go, my dad hates it when people are late," he clapped his hands a couple of time for emphasis, startling Chanyeol once again. Kyungsoo giggled and closed his eyes, relaxing into the seat. Maybe the day wasn't gonna be that bad after all.

  
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

  
They were already halfway to Kyungsoo's parents' house, and they still haven't exchanged a word, one of Chanyeol's playlist filling the silence. Kyungsoo already knew that they had similar music tastes, they discussed it yesterday, but the extent of the similarity still surprised Kyungsoo: he knew and liked almost every single song that had played so far.

"Did you hack into my iCloud or something?" jokingly said Kyungsoo, eyes trained on Chanyeol's profile. Chanyeol glanced at him and grinned. He had a nice smile, and Kyungsoo sighed inwardly; how was Chanyeol this good-looking? Unfair. "The only programs I really know how to use on my computer are music-related ones, so of course I did," Chanyeol laughed, glancing at Kyungsoo again. He seemed to be completely over the bad mood from before, to Chanyeol's relief. He didn't know what exactly about his and Baekhyun's conversation made him mad, but he didn't want to press Kyungsoo for answers, afraid that the mood could become awkward if he did, smiling Kyungsoo was better than sulking Kyungsoo, he didn't want to take his chances on that. Plus him not liking the answer was a possibility too, but he didn't want to dwell on that.

"So why did you bringing the guitar?" asked Kyungsoo, eyeing him curiously. Chanyeol did say he was practicing something yesterday, and Kyungsoo felt his heart soar at the prospect of hearing Chanyeol play something for him. Well- for his family. He did want Chanyeol to impress his family, so maybe him playing the guitar would be able to do that. "I was gonna play something before or after the dinner, if that's alright with you? Does your family ever do anything like this?" there was a slight hint of worry in his voice, which, in Kyungsoo's opinion, was endearing. He put his hand on Chanyeol's one, that was resting on the gearshift, and squeezed it lightly. "You don't have to be so nervous. We don't do stuff like this because no one in my family, besides me, is really into music...And it's not like you're really meeting your _actual_  boyfriend's family, so you don't have to be so nervous," said Kyungsoo, trying to cheer Chanyeol up, even if his stomach turned at the mention of the pretend relationship. The crease between Chanyeol's eyebrows deepened too. "Of course...But I still want to make a good impression, you know? I hate it when people don't like me," Chanyeol was now pouting, and inner Kyungsoo squealed at how cute the boy was. He brought his hand to Chanyeol's hair and run his fingers through it, comforting him. Chanyeol shuddered slightly and glanced at Kyungsoo out of the corner of his eye. "Can you, uh, not touch my hair, please?" Kyungsoo's eyes widened at that and he retracted his hand quickly, silently berating himself for crossing the line. What was he thinking? They weren't actually anything to each other, why did he even think it was okay to touch someone without their permission?

"Soo, hey, stop looking like a kicked puppy, it's not that I didn't like you touching my hair, it's just. Well-" Chanyeol coughed awkwardly, and when Kyungsoo looked at him, there was light pink dusting his cheeks. "...Oh," finally said Kyungsoo, his mouth forming a small 'o' when he realized what Chanyeol was trying to tell him. People touching his hair turned him on. Kyungsoo snickered at the last thought. "What do you do at hair salons then? How do you even get haircuts?" "Stop laughing at me, Soo, it's not funny. And I have to think about the most unappealing things so I don't get a boner, that's how," Chanyeol huffed, and Kyungsoo choked on his laugh after the word 'boner' left Chanyeol's mouth. "Can we keep this conversation PG, please?" "What, me talking about my boner turns you on?" Chanyeol waggled his eyebrows suggestively at Kyungsoo, looking away from the road for a moment, and Kyungsoo hit him in the arm in response. "No, it doesn't, you're gross, and don't look at me, look at the road, I don't wanna get in an accident," was what Kyungsoo said to Chanyeol, but in all honesty, the mention of 'Chanyeol' and 'boner' in the same sentence did throw him off. A little. Just a tiny bit. He really needed to get laid, but that was a thought for another day.

After that, there was a short lull in the conversation. Chanyeol was humming along to the song that was playing, but then it hit him. "Didn't you say yesterday that you sang?" "Huh? I might have, I don't remember. Why?" Kyungsoo looked at Chanyeol, brows furrowed. He did sing, he used to take vocal lessons when he was younger, even thought of becoming a vocalist, but he was too shy for that, and the dream stopped at that. "Sing for me? We've still got like ten minutes to go till we arrive, according to the GPS, so. Please?" Kyungsoo chewed on his bottom lip, thinking about the proposition. He hasn't sang in front of anyone in a long time, but something about Chanyeol was comforting, and made him forget that he barely even knew the guy. "...Okay," nodded Kyungsoo, and Chanyeol whooped at his response. "I'm not gonna do a full song though. I haven't warmed up," Kyungsoo mumbled, scrolling through Chanyeol's extensive music library, trying to pick a song to sing. He decided on 'Billionare', he knew the chorus by heart. He pressed play, and started singing. He almost did a double take when Chanyeol joined in, harmonizing with him at some points, but he didn't stop singing. Once the chorus went into the rap part, Chanyeol laughed. "Yaaaaah, Soo, that was so good! I would've clapped if I weren't driving. Your voice is amazing, you know that?" Chanyeol sounded delighted, and Kyungsoo blushed at the praise. It wasn't like he forgot that he still loved singing, but the compliments from other people was something he was never particularly used to, so especially after not singing for anyone for so long, he forgot what it felt like.

"...Thank you," he said quietly, shy smile on his lips. The best part about that was that Chanyeol was a musician, and it made Kyungsoo feel even more grateful, that someone like that acknowledged his voice. "Don't thank me, I'm just telling the truth! You really are incredible, I can't believe you didn't choose to be a music major with a voice like that...I don't know how I'm gonna sing in front of your family though, now that I know how good of a singer you are," Chanyeol sighed in mock sadness, but the corners of his mouth kept twitching, betraying his true feelings. "I can't play any instruments though, you beat me at that." "What, nothing comforting about how 'oh, you still have a good voice, Chanyeol'?" "Was I supposed to say that? I'm sorry." "Nah, I'm just joking," Chanyeol smiled warmly at Kyungsoo, turning his head in the direction of the other boy for a moment. "Thank you for singing for me," said Chanyeol, still smiling. "Oh, we're here, that's the building," said Kyungsoo suddenly, pointing at the building. "...Yeah."

Chanyeol parked the van at the free space that was available near the building that Kyunsoo's parents lived in, and they exited the car once they gathered Chanyeol's guitar and Kyungsoo's bags with presents to his family. Chanyeol slung the guitar case strap over his shoulder, and tried to take two out of the three bags from Kyungsoo, but was met with the protests from the smaller man. "I just want to hold your hand, that's why I'm taking the bags from you, why are you being like this," pouted Chanyeol, which silenced Kyungsoo, and Chanyeol threw his head back, laughing at the other boy's red cheeks. "C'mon," he finally took the bags in one hand, and, after adjusting the case, took Kyungsoo's hand in the other, intertwining their fingers. Kyungsoo squeezed Chanyeol's hand lightly, looking up at him, lips slightly parted. "I'm nervous," he whispered, it finally hit him that they were about to do. Chanyeol looked down at Kyungsoo, expression soft, a small smile forming on his lips. "It's gonna be okay, Soo," he said and squeezed Kyungsoo's hand back. He then placed a kiss on Kyungsoo's forehead, nose brushing the soft fringe, and Chanyeol closed his eyes, staying like that for a second. After they parted, Kyungsoo's nervousness seemed to subdue, and Chanyeol nudged his shoulder with his own. "Let's go, then." "...Yeah, let's go," said Kyungsoo quietly, feeling the inexplicable warmth spread through his entire body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *muffled screaming* i cant believe i wrote another chapter and chansoo STILL havent met the Do family, what a mess... anyway!! i decided to post this to show that I actually didnt forget about this fic haha, its just that i've been really busy with all the essays for uni and didn't have the time and inspiration to write anything else besides that, BUT ! chanyeol's IG post on kyungsoo's birthday did inspire me a bit, hence this chapter was born *crying emoji* pls dont hate me, i promise i will finish this fic one day...i mean they basically at the Do's door, nothing else can happen probably, so I hope the chansoo in my head won't decide to take a detour in the next chapter and we'll finally meet Kyungsoo's family and *spoiler* see chansoo awkwardly kiss each other in front of the whole family, so, good times! Yay! thank you for reading!:)


	4. Chapter 4

"Wait," Kyungsoo tugged on Chanyeol's hand, and stopped before they could reach the door. Chanyeol turned to look at him, and was met with a nervous expression on the other boy's face. Kyungsoo was frowning and worrying his bottom lip with his teeth, which earned him a huff from his "boyfriend". Kyungsoo closed his eyes at that thought and whined. He felt Chanyeol letting go of his hand, and the next thing he knew- Chanyeol was cupping his face in his hands. "What are you doing," there was an edge to his tone that Chanyeol couldn't decipher. When Chanyeol didn't say anything, Kyungsoo opened his eyes, and blinked up at Chanyeol, who was pouting. "Why are you pouting?" "Because you keep worrying like you don't believe I could do a good job," Chanyeol's pout deepened at these word, but it was so clearly exaggerated, that Kyungsoo closed his eyes again, deciding not to say anything. Chanyeol stroked shorter boy's cheeks with his thumbs, which made Kyungsoo sigh. He knew he was being childish, ignoring Chanyeol like that, when the other was clearly trying to cheer him up, but he couldn't help it. 

 

 

"You know it's not about you, Chanyeol. It's just. I never lie to my parents, except for that time when I broke my mom's favourite lamp and blamed it on one of my friends, but that's- yeah. So like," he took a deep breath, trying to calm down. Chanyeol stroked his cheeks again, showing him that he was ready to listen. "This is _big_. And I can't back out now. But I'm still nervous. It's dumb," he opened his eyes, and his breath hitched at the gaze directed at him. He wished he could describe it better, but the only word that came to his mind when he looked at Chanyeol's eyes was "warm". There was so much warmth in that look, it was weird to him, made him giddy and calm at the same time. "Why are you looking at me like that," he said flatly, trying not to let any of the emotions he was feeling at the moment seep into his voice. Chanyeol snorted and let go of his face, taking his hand again. Not even Baekhyun was this tactile, but it didn't bother Kyungsoo: the weight of Chanyeol's hand in his was reassuring. 

 

 

"I already told you like a thousand times, Soo. It's gonna be alright, we don't need to do much. Just remember the story we agreed on, and that's all. Come on," Chanyeol brushed Kyungsoo's hand with his thumb, but didn't move. He was waiting for Kyungsoo. "How aren't you dating anyone yet," he mumbled, and went to take the last flight of stairs. "Maybe I was waiting for you to come along this whole time," Chanyeol answered cheekily to the other boy's remark, and squeezed his hand lightly. Kyungsoo groaned in response, despite the smile that emerged on his face. "Save the cheese for the dinner, Park," he finally huffed, when they were already standing at the door. "Yes, sir!" Chanyeol grinned at him, and rang the doorbell. He heard the commotion from behind the door, and felt his hands starting to sweat. Gross. He tried to shake Chanyeol's hand off, but his grip only tightened, and he bumped their shoulders together. "Calm down," he murmured, and right at that moment the door opened. 

 

 

"Kyungsoo, baby, you're here!" his mother exclaimed, bright smile on her face. After him and Chanyeol were hauled into the flat, she hugged him tightly, and Kyungsoo exhaled; as much as his mom got on his nerves sometimes, he missed her. When she let go of him, her curious gaze was already on Chanyeol, who was standing there, looking a bit lost, but excited nonetheless. "And who is this handsome gentleman?" Chanyeol beamed at the praise, and bowed to Kyungsoo's mother. "I'm Park Chanyeol, Kyungsoo's boyfriend. It's nice to meet you, missis Do," he bowed again, this time lower. Kyungsoo placed his hand on Chanyeol's lower back and patted him, trying to get him to stop bowing. Kyungsoo's mom, in turn, looked delighted. 

 

 

"Oh, honey, no need for the formalities, you can call me mother," she took Chanyeol's hands in her own, and smiled warmly at him. Kyungsoo rolled his eyes, because really? She didn't even know Chanyeol, and already told him to call her mother? Talk about moving fast. Kyungsoo looked at her, and her eyes were darting between him, Chanyeol, and his hand on the small of Chanyeol's back. "You make a lovely couple. Very handsome," she sighed dreamily, and stroked Kyungsoo's cheek. "...Mom, really," he shook his head and removed her hand, feeling slightly embarrassed. He knew that Chanyeol was enjoying this, but enough was enough. "Let's talk about this later. Can we come in already, I want to take off my coat already, it's hot in here." "Oh, of course! Almost everyone is already here, we were only waiting for you and uncle Sungki, sweetheart. Come to the living room when you're ready!" She chirped, and after throwing another smile Chanyeol's way, hurried down the hall. Kyungsoo deflated, and sat on the floor, trying to convince himself that what was happening right now wasn't just a weird dream. Chanyeol crouched down in front of him and went to unbutton Kyungsoo's coat, only for his hands to be slapped away before he could even reach the first button. Chanyeol then got up and, after placing the guitar case on the floor, and unzipped his own coat, and hung it in the closet where the rest of the coats were. 

 

 

"Well, aren't you a ray of sunshine, sweetheart," said Chanyeol in a teasing tone, picking up his case. Kyungsoo glared at him, but was met with a soft smile instead of a mocking smirk that he was expecting, and bit back on the snide comeback he was about to make. He then made a sad face and put his arms up, making grabby hands at Chanyeol. "Help me get up," he whined, when Chanyeol made no attempt to move. The boy laughed at him, making Kyungsoo frown, but he still helped him. "Why are you being such a baby, Soo?" murmured Chanyeol, working on unbuttoning Kyungsoo's coat. "I hate Baekhyun," he blurted out then, the thing kept going through his mind since they arrived, and Chanyeol looked up from the buttons. "I don't. If it weren't for him,I probably wouldn't have met you," Chanyeol shrugged, and let go of the coat. "Unbutton the rest yourself, I don't want to get down on my knees for you, yet." There was a sly smile on Chanyeol's face, and Kyungsoo almost reacted, but he managed to keep his face in check with this one. "'Yet'? So you are planning on it? No thanks, keep it." "Keep what?" "It." flatly said Kyungsoo and looked up, a grin threatening to break out. Chanyeol just huffed at that, and took the coat from him. After they gathered all the presents that were haphazardly standing around them, they exchanged a long look before they finally go to the room where Kyungsoo's parents and relatives are gathered. Chanyeol nodded at him, another attempt at reassuring him, and Kyungsoo sighed. 

 

 

"Thank you," he said, voice soft. Despite all the doubts, he _was_ grateful to Chanyeol. He knew the guy only for two days, but there was a certain familiarity to him that made Kyungsoo feel safe and secure. He wasn't sure if the only thing he was thanking Chanyeol for was coming with him today, or if it was taking a chance on Kyungsoo when many others wouldn't, but he decided not to elaborate on that. "I'm just here for the food, Soo, no need to thank me," Chanyeol's tone was light, lacking any seriousness, as usual, but the gentle expression on his face showed that he didn't mean it. "Well, then you're in luck, because my mom is a fantastic cook," Kyungsoo flashed a smile at him, and skipped down the corridor, without waiting for Chanyeol. He heard Chanyeol chuckle from behind him, and smiled even wider. 

 

\-------

 

Kyungsoo was laughing quietly to himself. Chanyeol has been bowing to everyone for the past five minutes, no less, and it frankly was getting ridiculous at that point. All the aunties, mom's friends- just, generally, the female part of the gathering was gushing over Chanyeol, about how tall and lovely he was, about how lucky Kyungsoo was to "befriend" such a handsome young man. "He's my boyfriend, not friend," he said, eyebrows raised and tone amused, coming up from behind Chanyeol, after he heard the last remark. "Oh, of course, sorry Kyungsoo," hastily apologized the woman who said that, waving her hand at him. He knew that while, luckily, no one in their circle was homophobic, per say - those who were, his mom was sure to cut off already - but he supposed it was still hard for some of them to wrap their heads around the whole thing, being raised in a less accepting society. Chanyeol looked down at him, smiling, and snuck his arm around the shorter boy's waist. 

 

"So how did you guys meet?" asked aunt Dahee curiously. Kyungsoo sighed, he knew that it was going to come up, and it was one of the things that they were prepared for, but it doesn't mean that it was the most comfortable subject to talk about. Chanyeol squeezed his waist lightly, and Kyungsoo felt his cheeks heating up. This, in turn, caused a wave of 'aww's, which worsened the blush. When Kyungsoo didn't answer, Chanyeol spoke up. "Uh, we'll tell you, but maybe a bit later, when we're all sat down? Mother also wanted to hear the story," he smiled at the women, and they all nodded energetically. Right at that moment, uncle Sungki finally sauntered in, and then there was his mother, clapping her hands and asking everyone to choose their place to sit so they can start the dinner. 

 

\-------

 

There was so much food. _So much_. Despite Chanyeol's promise to eat all of it, he was mostly chatting to all the relatives and family friends around the table. He complimented Kyungsoo's mom's cooking approximately a hundred times, which, apparently, made her fall in love with him, judging by the flushed cheeks and the giggling. His father smiled good-naturedly at Chanyeol, not saying a word, but when his and Kyungsoo's eyes locked, he nodded at him, making Kyungsoo bow his head in embarrassment. The evening was going smoothly, Chanyeol managed to charm everyone, and at this moment, he already finished eating, and was discussing basketball with some of dad's friends at the table, arm draped over the back of Kyungsoo's chair. Kyungsoo was picking at the food quietly, not really paying attention to the chatter around him. Kyungsoo felt conflicted because, he enjoyed the evening, he was happy that his relatives and friends liked Chanyeol. It made him feel proud, for some reason, but at the same time made his stomach turn. Because none of it was real, and it was the first and last time any of them were going to see Chanyeol. The happy expression on mother's face when she observed them together made everything worse, because Kyungsoo knew that he was going to disappoint her. The deep rumble of Chanyeol's laughter and his hand on Kyungsoo's thigh made Kyungsoo look up sharply and glance at Chanyeol. The table was eyeing him curiously, and Chanyeol patted his thigh before retracting his hand. 

 

 

"We were talking about how we met," Chanyeol helpfully filled him in on the topic, and Kyungsoo smiled tightly. Right. There it was. "I can't believe Kyungsoo was the one to ask you out," his mother laughed lightly, her eyes kind, and chin propped on her hand. She looked like he was very interested in the details of the ordeal- when there really was none. "Now that I know Kyungsoo better, I agree with you," Chanyeol mirrored her smile, and then the hand was back on Kyungsoo's thigh. Kyungsoo looked down at his lap, and then looked back up immediately- the size of Chanyeol's hand compared to the size of his thigh was. Distracting, to say the least. "Why does everyone find it so hard to believe that I was the one to make the first move?" he finally said, furrowing his brows. He wasn't _that_  undeceive, was he? His mother smirked mischievously at him, and Kyungsoo raised his eyebrows quizzically. "Well, because you're a lot like your father, and I was the one to ask him out," the table then erupted in laughter, and Kyungsoo suddenly wanted nothing more than to die. Chanyeol next to him was laughing, too, but when he kissed his cheek and cooed at how "adorable" Kyungsoo was, the wish almost came true. Kyungsoo sputtered, standing up abruptly, and the laughter became even louder. Chanyeol tugged on his wrist, making him sit back down. 

 

 

"You both do make an adorable couple," said aunt Dahee, which everyone at the table agreed with. Why did Kyungsoo decide if was a good idea to pretend to have a boyfriend? His cheeks were burning, the hand on his thigh wasn't going away, and that made concentrating on the conversation harder, because the said hand was too close to his crotch for his liking- the last thing he wanted right now was to get a hard on with all of his relatives sitting at the table and watching him like hawks. 

 

 

The rest of the dinner went by relatively smoothly, at least as smooth as it could go when all Kyungsoo could think of was Chanyeol's lips pressing to his cheek for a brief moment, and the large hand occasionally squeezing his thigh; Kyungsoo didn't know if Chanyeol was doing this on purpose or not, but it was distracting, and Kyungsoo was too weak to make Chanyeol stop. Before serving the desert, his mother remembered that Chanyeol actually brought a guitar with him, and asked if he was going to play for them. Everyone cheered, and he perked up, standing up quickly and going to get the guitar. People at the table were smiling, seemingly excited to hear Chanyeol perform something for them, but Kyungsoo tensed up. He really wasn't gonna survive tonight, because after all of this he was also going to hear Chanyeol play the guitar? Death. Death was waiting for him. He looked at his mother, and found her already watching him. She extended her hand stroked his forearm gently. "Calm down, honey, I'm sure your boyfriend is gonna be perfect, no need to worry," she was right about worrying, but it wasn't that. He only smiled bashfully in response, and she didn't press further, knowing that when Kyungsoo wasn't in the mood to talk, there was no use in forcing him to. He was glad that his mother knew him well, but not well enough to tell that he brought home a damn fake boyfriend. 

 

 

Chanyeol finally came back with a guitar, and he pulled out a chair for him to sit on. While he was fiddling with a guitar, everyone kept asking him questions about music. The question of what "part-time musician" meant didn't really come up, thankfully, since he explained earlier on that he was working at the bar where he did small shows sometimes, but someone asked whether he wrote his own songs or not. Chanyeol cleared his throat, falling silent for a moment after that, and then answered that "of course he did". Kyungsoo found that hot, for some reason. Don't ask. 

 

 

When Chanyeol was finally done, all seated, the guitar across his lap, he cleared his throat again, and said that he was going to do a cover of a song he liked. When he started humming, Kyungsoo cocked his head to the side, and rummaged through his brain, trying to remember the song he was sure he knew. When Chanyeol started singing, it hit him. It was [Hozier's Work Song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkL6wR0xghA). Hozier wasn't exactly Kyungsoo's style, but when someone recommended him his album, he was so captivated with the singer's voice, he listened solely to it for a month straight. Chanyeol's voice, unsurprisingly, fit the song. He had to rearrange it a bit for it to sound coherently with only a guitar, and his pronunciation was slightly off, as far as Kyungsoo could tell, but still- Kyungsoo couldn't take the eyes off of the boy in front of him. He was engrossed in the music, eyes closed, but the relaxed posture was giving away how much he enjoyed doing what he did. He didn't do the full song, stopping before the third verse. Kyungsoo was the first one to clap, eyes never straying from Chanyeol's form. 

 

 

Chanyeol looked at Kyungsoo, visibly surprised, but definitely pleased, and then his eyes skimmed the rest of the people in the room. Everyone was impressed, and that's why there was a couple of people who asked him to sing one of his songs. Chanyeol smiled sheepishly, gazing at the ground. "Uh. Well. Alright, there's something very new and very short, it's not really finished, but..." his voice trailed off and he glanced at Kyungsoo, who was still sitting there, transfixed. Chanyeol wasn't the most amazing singer, by a long shot, but something about his voice and his whole demeanor was so...enthralling, it left Kyungsoo speechless. He heard snickering from some of the relatives, but he couldn't. It be bothered to even glare at them, trying to process what was happening. Chanyeol, in the mean time, started playing another song, after all the pleading from some of the aunties, and Kyungsoo snapped back to reality, focusing his attention on Chanyeol, who, once again, had his eyes closed, but now there was also a small smile playing on his lips. This time, the song was in Korean. ["Boy, perhaps you are trying to hide your wings and many charms that I don’t know of behind your small shoulders..."](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVX6DVVMy8s) Now that he was finally able to fully understand the lyrics, he felt his face flush, and honestly, who asked Chanyeol to sing something like that? When he finished singing, there was wolf-whistling this time, and neither Kyungsoo nor Chanyeol even tried looking at each other. 

 

 

"Was that song for Kyungsoo?" asked uncle Sungki, who was obviously pretty drunk at this point, and Kyungsoo groaned inwardly. He was trying to keep his composure, but it was getting harder by the minute. Chanyeol's "it might be" was the last straw, and he stood up then, and left the living room without saying a word. 

 

 

Kyungsoo power-walked to the bathroom and almost slammed the door behind him, but decided against that, simply closing it him with a soft thud, and locking it. He fished the phone out of his pocket and texted Baekhyun, hands trembling. He didn't know what exactly got him so worked up, and he didn't know if he was angry, or embarrassed, or both of these, but he didn't feel good. Chanyeol took it too far, and that wasn't fair. 

 

 

Baekhyun finally replied, but it wasn't the heartfelt reply Kyungsoo was hoping for. But really, what did he expect from Baekhyun.

 

 

Kyungsoo frowned at the messages, but then Baekhyun was calling him, just as he promised. "Sup, loser," Baekhyun yawned, voice thick with sleep. "It's not even 7 P.M., why are you sleeping?" Kyungsoo asked incredulously, his own problem forgotten for a moment. Baekhyun really needed to fix his sleeping schedule. "Didn't you say something about killing Chanyeol? I think that's the more pressing matter here," he said, a hint of amusement in his tone. Oh, yeah. That. 

 

 

"He charmed my whole family, I think my mom wants to adopt him, and he sang a song where he talked about how he can't stop thinking about someone, and my whole family thought it was about me," when Kyungsoo finished this part of his monologue, there was only breathing on the other end. "I don't know how to deal with him, so I need to kill him," concluded Kyungsoo, sitting down on the edge of the bathtub. The silence was followed by a heavy sigh from Baekhyun. "Soo, legit question, aren't you supposed to be like, smart?" "What does it have to do with anything I just told you," Kyungsoo said flatly, he couldn't tell where his friend was going with this. Maybe he really wasn't that smart, after all. "That has everything to do with this, dumbass. Just _talk to the dude_ , tell him you like him-" "I don't!" "Shut up! Yes you do, tell him that, and honestly? I'm pretty sure he likes you back. If not, he seems cool enough to look past your gigantic crush on him, so he would probably still hang out with you if you'd want to be friends with him. It's not like you have anything to lose. Just go for it," Baekhyun sighed again, and Kyungsoo heard the rustling of the sheets, and then he heard another voice in the background, which almost made him drop his phone.

 

 

"Baekhyun, who are you with right now?" Kyungsoo was sitting there, dumbfounded, because Baekhyun didn't even mention anything about bringing someone over. What the fuck? "...I'm with Yixing," he answered timidly, but Kyungsoo could hear the smile in his voice. Oh, thank God. "So you finally sucked his dick," teased him Kyungsoo, and that earned him chuckle from Baekhyun. "Shut up." "Was he big?" "I'm hanging up on you, go deal with your own problems, Romeo," Baekhyun laughed again and really hung up on him. What a brat. Kyungsoo sighed and dragged a hand across his face. Baekhyun was right for once, though, he really needed to deal with the mess. 

 

 

When Kyungsoo finally exited the bathroom after staying there for another ten minutes, thinking of what he was going to do now, he jumped when he saw that his mom was standing outside the door, waiting for something. "Sorry I hogged the bathroom, I didn't know you were waiting," he smiled crookedly, feeling very tired all of a sudden. His mom just shook her head, smiling up at him, and then enveloped him in a hug. "What's that for?" he mumbled into her shoulder when she kept holding him for longer than usual. "I'm just so happy for you, Kyungsoo. Chanyeol seems like a nice boy, and you... You look like you really like him," she parted from him, and when he looked at her face, it seemed like she could tear up any minute. Kyungsoo didn't know what to say to her, really, so he decided to try and lighten up the atmosphere as best as he could. "Why aren't any of you worried that he's a bartender and a musician, and not like. A businessman or something, I don't know," Kyungsoo shrugged, genuinely interested in the answer. He didn't think too much about it before, but none of them even questioned it, which wasn't suspicious per say, but. It was weird. "Oh, honey, me and your father just happy that you're happy. It's your choice, not ours, after all. And I think everyone else can also see that you're good for each other. You look like you're in love," she patted his cheek, and that was it. When his mother left to get the dessert ready, he still stood there, trying to process the last phrase that she said to him. In love?

 

\------

 

They spent another hour at his parents', and then it was finally time to pack up and go home. He thought that he was going to go back empty handed, sans the food for Baekhyun, but he forgot that there were going to be presents from the relatives, too, so their hands, once again, were full with boxes and bags. His mother tried to make him promise to bring Chanyeol with him to the Lunar New Year celebration, but Kyungsoo just waved her off, smiling, stomach heavy with uncertainty. Was Chanyeol even gonna be in his life by that time? 

 

 

The drive home would've been silent if it wasn't for the music. Kyungsoo felt Chanyeol's worried glances on him, but he didn't say anything, his mind going back to the conversations with his mother and Baekhyun. Chanyeol insisted on dropping Kyungsoo off first, even though Kyungsoo said that he didn't need to do that, but then there was this soft look on Chanyeol's face again, and he decided that this way, at least he would have the time to think the situation over, and if he was ready to do anything about it. Kyungsoo, somehow, managed to doze off, and was only woken up by Chanyeol's gentle shaking when they were already in front of his house. Kyungsoo shifted from Chanyeol's face to the hand gripping his shoulder, and when Chanyeol saw that, he pulled his hand back abruptly, tight smile on his face. "Guess I can't do this since we're not pretend boyfriends anymore, huh?" He scratched his neck awkwardly, and Kyungsoo stilled at the words. He really needed to get it over with.

 

 

"Listen-" they started talking at the same time, and Chanyeol snorted. Kyungsoo nodded at him, telling him to continue, but Chanyeol shook his head. "You go first, it's alright." Kyungsoo deflated. He has never been rejected before, since he never actually asked anyone out himself - both Chanyeol and his mother were right about that - and the possibility of it happening was terrifying. Not because it would hurt his self-esteem, but because  Chanyeol was someone he could see himself building a future with, even if it did not sound normal, considering he had known him for only two days. He wasn't going it to say that to Chanyeol either, because that definitely would not get him anywhere. 

 

 

"So," Kyungsoo drawled out, eyes focused on his own hands that were fidgeting with the hem of the coat. "I told you that the reason why I brought you with me today was because I didn't want to be in a relationship, right?" There was a non-committal noice in response to that, which Kyungsoo took as an agreement, since he still didn't dare to look at Chanyeol. "Well, what if I told you that it's not...really true?" Kyungsoo glanced at Chanyeol briefly, and the expression on the other's face was confused. Chanyeol furrowed his brows, trying to understand what exactly Kyungsoo wanted from him. "Do you...want me to set you up with someone?" Chanyeol said lowly, carefully, and Kyungsoo looked up sharply at him, shock written all over his face. "What? No!" he exclaimed, a little too loudly, and that made Chanyeol wince. "No," repeated Kyungsoo, quieter this time, and looked down again. "I," he swallowed and closed his eyes. "I'd like to be in a relationship. With you," Kyungsoo opened his eyes and looked at Chanyeol. Chanyeol froze in his place, and was blinking at Kyungsoo confusedly. 

 

 

"Ah, shit, forget it, Chanyeol. It doesn't matter. I'll text you later," Kyungsoo said, and turned to open the door, but was stopped by Chanyeol gripping onto his shoulder. "What," he spit out, his face burning from the embarrassment, and he was ready to go home and cry about it to Baekhyun, but Chanyeol didn't move his hand away. "I'm...I like you, Soo, I can't believe you thought I was going to reject you," Chanyeol's voice was soft, he was practically whispering, and when turned back to face Chanyeol, he was ambushed with a kiss. Chanyeol's lips were slightly chapped, cold weather talking its' toll, but it wasn't unpleasant. He tasted of sikhye they drank earlier, and of something else Kyungsoo couldn't quite put a finger on. When Kyungsoo deepened the kiss, Chanyeol sighed in his mouth, and moved his hands from his neck to his waist, trying to get him closer, and out of his seat. "Ow, Chanyeol, the gearshift," Kyungsoo broke away and whined as the thing unpleasantly pressed into his stomach. Chanyeol's eyes widened, and he patted Kyungsoo's stomach in apology. "Can we maybe...go to yours?" Chanyeol asked, unsure, but his gaze was pleading. Kyungsoo sighed and brushed his neck with his fingers. "Baekhyun probably still has Yixing over," he grumbled, and went to peck Chanyeol on the lips one more time. "You have the best lips," he murmured, smiling at Kyungsoo. "I know," answered Kyungsoo, trying to keep it cool, but the blush on his cheeks betrayed him. 

 

 

"Did you really think I was gonna reject you?" asked Chanyeol after a brief silence, making Kyungsoo groan. "We're not talking about it." "I kept my hand on your thigh for like two hours, and you thought I was gonna reject you." "Shut up." "You're ridiculous," Chanyeol said fondly, and Kyungsoo just shook his head at him. "You could've been just a tactile person, I'm not ridiculous, and we are _not_  talking about it," Kyungsoo said flatly, but when Chanyeol pouted at him, he kissed him on the cheek. They sat there for another couple of minutes, Kyungsoo playing with Chanyeol's fingers, and Chanyeol asking him about Baekhyun and Yixing. When Kyungsoo said that he needed to go, Chanyeol tugged him in for another kiss. 

 

 

When they parted, Chanyeol was smiling mischievously, and Kyungsoo squinted at him, trying to guess what was coming next. "So. My parents are gonna be back by the Lunar New Year..." he trailed off, and the smile on his face grew wider. "I'm happy for you?" offered Kyungsoo, still squinting, not getting where this was going. "I know your mom invited us to yours, but I think we should go visit my parents instead," Chanyeol finished, grin impossibly wide. "...We've been dating for about twenty minutes, Chanyeol," Kyungsoo raised his eyebrows, amused at the preposition. "Yeah, and I've already met your parents," Chanyeol chuckled, and cocked his head to the side like an actual puppy he was. "So, what do you say?" "...I say that I'm going now and that you should text me when you get home," Kyungsoo nodded seriously, making Chanyeol laugh. "Alright, let's talk about it later." "I didn't say that!" "I did," Chanyeol smiled at him again, and Kyungsoo knew that he was probably going to agree with whatever the boy was going to ask him to do. 

 

 

"...I can't believe we're going have to tell our kids that we met because of your weird ad on Craigslist," Kyungsoo joked then, and Chanyeol's face lit up. "We can just tell them it was faith that brought us together," Chanyeol quipped, grinning. "...Yeah," said Kyungsoo softly. "I guess we can." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wohooo im done finally! i wrote this basically in one sitting, so im kinda exhaused now lol  
> ngl im a bit disappointed with the last paragraph, really, but i always have a problem with endings, so its not surprising really D:  
> but anyway!! i hope you dont dislike it too much!:)  
> thank you for reading, as always!!:)  
> P.S. Just imagine that all the 'girl's in Chanyeol's You Are are actually 'boy's, since Kyungsoo is definitely not a girl haha, and in this fic when Chanyeol said to Soo that he was practicing something, he was actually writing this song, Kyungsoo was the inspiration :)


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